Press Statement
By
The Progressive Liberal Party
Another FNM Minister of Health Dr Hubert Minnis
asleep at the wheel
Conditions at Dialysis Unit at Princess Margaret
Hospital are deplorable
July 6th 2010
Information
has come to the Progressive Liberal Party’s attention that the Ministry
of Health via the Hospital Authority has allowed major deterioration at
the Ddialysis Unit at PMH, putting the welfare of its patients in
jeopardy. These conditions include the following:
The
air-conditioning system until very recently was not working and was
just recently partially restored and conditions are still at
unacceptable standards for patients and staff at the unit. We are
informed that dialysis procedures are to be conducted in a comfortable
environment.
We also
understand that the quality of the patient's life while in the hospital
setting is important and hence the quality of the hospital environment
is equally important. How can Minister Dr Hubert Minnis justify allowing
this crisis to develop and the present conditions to exist at PMH?
We
are informed that some patients are not receiving full and quality
treatment as there is no consistent or proper maintenance of the Water
System and the Bicarbonate System, both of which breakdown frequently.
Sources
disclose that the roof in the Dialysis Unit is leaking, there are holes
in the ceiling and renovations are being carried out while patients are
being dialyzed. These are highly undesirable conditions and practices
that could lead to contamination of the environment and infections to
the patients. Reports of the number of deaths by patients on dialysis
have escalated over the past two years and this phenomenon raises
justifiable cause for very serious concern. Further, an important drug,
Recormon, is said to be unavailable on a regular basis. This critical
drug is used to treat anaemia caused by Kidney disease; Recormon does so
by stimulating the production of Red Blood Cells. This too is a highly
undesirable situation at the PMH and must be corrected with great
urgency.
We
are also informed that there is a shortage of trained nurses which
negatively impacts the delivery of quality health services at the PMH.
Morale of the staff is low and the quality of training provided by the
highly paid Expat training officer at the dialysis unit is of serious
concern.
Are
the current conditions at the Dialysis Unit typical of the results
being delivered under the leadership of the Minister of Health Dr Hubert
Minnis who seems to think that he should be congratulated for the so
called “excellent” job he is doing as Minister?
In
the public interest, the PLP will continue to follow up on these
unacceptable conditions at the Dialysis Unit until these vexing health
issues are satisfactorily resolved.
